Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Proximity And Journalistic Practice In Environmental Discourse: Experiencing “Job Blackmail” In The News, Barbara Johnstone, Justin Mando

Barbara Johnstone

Clash Of Civilization Or Clash Of Newspaper Ideologies? An Analysis Of The Ideological Split In British Newspaper Commentaries On The 2002 Miss World Riots In Nigeria, Farooq A. Kperogi

Farooq A. Kperogi

Riots that erupted in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna over a newspaper article that some Muslims interpreted as blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad on account of Nigeria’s decision to host the 2002 edition of the Miss World beauty pageant captured the attention of the media around the world. This article investigates how the British press framed the riots in their opinion columns and editorials. Through an interpretive textual analysis of the opinion pages, the study shows that while the ideological persuasions of left-leaning British press predisposed them to express opinions on the Miss World riots that resonated with what might …

Press Controls In Wartime: The Legal, Historical, And Institutional Context, Stephen D. Cooper

Stephen D. Cooper

News coverage of warfare poses a dilemma for social systems with a free press, such as the United States. In an era of high-tech weaponry and nearly instantaneous global communications, conflict is inevitable between the obligation of the press to inform the general public and the obligation of the military to successfully conduct war. The importance of secrecy to the conduct of warfare heightens the issue in the current counterterrorism operations. The competitive advantage of live coverage raises the stakes in a crowded media market. The military’s control over newsgathering during the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War set off a controversy …

A People's History Of Baseball, Mitchell J. Nathanson

Mitchell J Nathanson

Baseball is much more than the national pastime. It has become an emblem of America itself. From its initial popularity in the mid-nineteenth century, the game has reflected national values and beliefs and promoted what it means to be an American. Stories abound that illustrate baseball's significance in eradicating racial barriers, bringing neighborhoods together, building civic pride, and creating on the field of play an instructive civics lesson for immigrants on the national character. In A People's History of Baseball, Mitchell Nathanson probes the less well-known but no less meaningful other side of baseball: episodes not involving equality, patriotism, heroism, …

Gender And The Digital Economy: Perspectives From The Developing World, Margaretha Geertsema Sligh

Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

Editors Cecilia Ng and Swasti Mitter address an important and timely topic in their new book. The book sets out to do exactly what the title says; the authors interrogate the participation of women in the Information and Communication Technologys (ICTs) industry, particularly in developing countries. As the editors point out in the introduction, there are concerns that globalization will increase inequalities and asymmetrical power relationships between the rich and the poor. Yet, they are quite optimistic about the potential enabling power of new technologies.

Gender And The Digital Economy: Perspectives From The Developing World, Margaretha Geertsema Sligh

Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

Editors Cecilia Ng and Swasti Mitter address an important and timely topic in their new book. The book sets out to do exactly what the title says; the authors interrogate the participation of women in the Information and Communication Technologys (ICTs) industry, particularly in developing countries. As the editors point out in the introduction, there are concerns that globalization will increase inequalities and asymmetrical power relationships between the rich and the poor. Yet, they are quite optimistic about the potential enabling power of new technologies.

Towards A Narratology Of Court Reporting, Jane Johnston, Rhonda Breit

Jane Johnston

This article uses the theory of narratology to connect legal discourses and processes with the way the media translate the law into news. It identifies how narratology has been used by other disciplines, notably the law, to provide a framework for better understanding, and uses a range of theories and examples to propose a narratology for court reporting. The research identifies six key elements of narrative and expands these into a three-level schema of story level, discourse analysis and the interpretative context of stories. Finally, the article foreshadows a methodology through which to develop the narratology that follows court proceedings …

Women Making News: Gender And Media In South Africa, Margaretha Geertsema

Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

South Africa’s news media are still in a process of transformation after the transition to democracy in 1994. The media continue to face the challenge of ensuring equal and fair representation to the entire population, and gender and media activists in particular have taken up the challenge of bringing about change. Research shows that women have not yet achieved equal access and representation compared to men: they are under-represented as reporters, news sources, and audience members. Yet, in comparison with other countries, South Africa has about as many female reporters as the average reported in the Global Media Monitoring Project …

Hamas Controlled Televised News Media: Counter- Peace, Allen Gnanam

Allen Gnanam

The hegemonic force of Hamas censored televised news media in Gaza, can not be fully comprehended and appreciated without recognizing the role of propaganda, censorship, and the historical context of the middle east. These 3 interrelated dimensions will be analyzed using functionalism, the mass society theory, the dominant ideology framework, the critical criminology framework, and the symbolic interactionist framework. Through censorship, Hamas news media outlets were able to unilaterally inject culturally relevant propaganda, into the minds of children and citizens. The hypodermic syringe model can be applied to the state controlled news media situation in Gaza, as the people of …

Media Framing And Policy Change After Columbine, Thomas Birkland, Regina Lawrence

Thomas A Birkland

The 1999 Columbine school shooting incident in Colorado gained far more media attention across a broader range of issues than any school violence episode before or since. One might expect that Columbine would have had an influence on public opinion, public policy, and scholarship commensurate with the attention it gained. We find that the event did contribute in a limited but interesting way to scholarship on media framing. But the effect of Columbine on public opinion and the nature and substance of public policy was limited. Attention to school shootings peaked with Columbine, and the attention surrounding that event mostly …

Toward A Global Media Ethics: Theoretical Perspectives, Clifford G. Christians, Shakuntala Rao, Stephen J.A. Ward, Herman Wasserman

Shakuntala Rao

Theoretical debates about global media ethics have been marked by disagreements about the nature, possibility, and desirability of a global ethics. This article attempts to address those disagreements by developing an “ethics of universal being” as the philosophical basis for a global media ethics, an ethics expressed by such universals as the sacredness of life, truth, and nonviolence. The article aims to explore various theoretical positions on global media ethics by providing an overview of the literature and seeking ways in which common ground may be found between these different positions. This approach is developed in two ways. First, it …

China- Tibet Conflict, Allen Gnanam

Allen Gnanam

China- Tibet tensions are continually growing, as Tibetans are protesting for total independence from China, despite condemnation from their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who is only seeking a sense of autonomy for Tibet (Sinder, 2008). As Tibetan protests are becoming violent and aggressive, the Dalai Lama has also threatened to resign as Tibet’s government in exile (Sinder, 2008), however, his rhetoric is not being exposed to the Tibetan people, due to government censorship in China. Therefore the Dalai Lama, an exiled institutional entrepreneur, has to find new methods that will enable his influential message, to be received by the …

Demarcating The Right To Gather News: A Sequential Interpretation Of The First Amendment, Erik Ugland

Erik Ugland

The recent spate of cases in which reporters have been subpoenaed, fined, jailed, or otherwise disciplined has laid bare the divisions among the courts over the existence and scope of the “reporter’s privilege.” The cases have also exposed the doctrinal, historical, and theoretical infirmities of the broader legal framework that governs newsgathering. Resolving these conflicts has grown more urgent with the democratization of media and the emergence of bloggers and other news providers who have challenged traditional conceptions of “journalists” and “the press.” To settle these controversies, this Article moves past the courts’ desultory analyses, focuses on core principles, and …

Media Relations: Issues And Strategies, Jane Johnston

Jane Johnston

A thorough introduction to the essential skills of working with the media, for public relations students and professionals.

Media relations is one of the most tangible and visible areas of public relations practice. It requires specialised skills, expertise about the media and its practices, and an understanding of current affairs and issues. It uses the practical tools of the media release, media conference and media kits, combined with management skills of advising about best practice within an organisation, and it is based on open relationships with journalists and other media professionals.

Media Relations provides a practical and thorough introduction to …